


The Best Things Come in Threes

by wickedestwitch



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-06-08 17:57:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6867490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wickedestwitch/pseuds/wickedestwitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Justin knows that smile, that look in Holster’s eyes, has seen it on multiple different occasions. It’s the look he gets when he’s really into a girl, when he’s crushing hard on someone and he thinks nobody’s looking, but of course Justin is looking, he always looks at Holster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm disappointed at the fact that apparently nobody else has OT3'ed this already, so I guess I'm gonna have to take matters into my own hands. Holsomarch? Manster? Molsom? JAM? I don't even know.  
> This is my first time ever sharing fanfiction with others (and tbh sharing creative writing with others in general, apart from RPing), and I'm not from an English speaking country, so feedback is very welcome!

There’s nothing special about the moment Justin realizes it, not really. They’re having a movie night, just the three of them, as they often do, watching a trashy action flick because it’s March’s turn to choose and her taste in movies is atrocious. Justin leaves the room to make more popcorn, and when he comes back, March is laughing at something while Holster looks at her with a smile. He stops in the doorway, looking at them for a few moments, happy with how well his two favorite people get along, and then the realization hits him. Justin _knows_ that smile, that look in Holster’s eyes, has seen it on multiple different occasions. It’s the look he gets when he’s really into a girl, when he’s crushing hard on someone and he thinks nobody’s looking, but of course Justin is looking, he always looks at Holster.

The movie night continues as normal, except Justin keeps noticing more moments, where Holster’s gaze lingers on March just a moment too long, smiling at her when he thinks nobody is looking. He doesn’t do anything about it, though, pushing any thoughts about it out of his mind and trying to enjoy the movie as if nothing was out of the ordinary. He really doesn’t know what to make of it – how _do_ you react to realizing your best friend is in love with your girlfriend?

Later that night in the attic, when Holster’s fast asleep, he finally lets himself think about it. Holster likes Marsh. Holster, his best friend, has a crush on his March, his girlfriend. Not just a minor crush, that look doesn’t just appear in his eyes around any cute girl. What’s he even supposed to do about it? He knows Holster would never act on it, would never even consider doing anything to hurt Justin. Addressing it would probably make him feel even guiltier than he must be feeling already. March is amazing, and so is Holster, so how could he fault him for being into her too? He’s not really sure how anyone could _not_ be. He should probably just ignore it, for the time being, at least. Hopefully Holster will just get over it, maybe he’ll even find someone else, someone perfect for him. There’s an uncomfortable twist in his gut at that thought, which is most definitely _not cool_. Holster deserves happiness too, he can’t just expect to have his best friend to himself forever. It’d be pretty hypocritical of him to be jealous, when he has a girlfriend himself.

It’s two weeks later when another realization hits him. The three of them are at a campus café, and when he comes back from the bathroom, March and Holster are laughing over something, except this time, it’s March who’s watching Holster with a familiar look as he throws his head back in laughter. It’s an all too familiar look again - the same look March has when she looks at _him_. And Justin really, really, doesn’t know what to make of this. Because his best friend being into his girlfriend is one thing, but his girlfriend liking him back? That’s… he doesn’t even know, what that is.

The thing is, Justin really isn’t jealous, or suspicious, or even upset, not really. His best friend and his girlfriend are into each other, but he knows March loves him, and Holster loves him, and neither of them would ever do anything to hurt him. These are the two people he loves most in the entire world, people he wouldn't even hesitate to trust with his life. March is beautiful, smart, strong, talented, and kind, and so is Holster. They’re both so incredibly wonderful, how could he ever fault anyone for being a bit (or a lot) in love with either one of them? Whatever he’s feeling, it’s definitely not jealousy, or anger, or fear, but it’s definitely _something_. If only he could figure out what it is.

He spends the next few days contemplating. He’s fairly sure both March and Holster notice something’s off, though they don’t mention it – both of them are excellent at figuring out when to push and when to leave Justin to his thoughts. He still can’t put a finger on what he feels about this, or what he wants to do about it. Saying something to either one of them feels like it could just make things worse, but ignoring it probably wouldn’t solve any problems either. The worst part is, he can’t really even ask anyone for advice on this. There’s two people he’d consider confiding in about something like this, and they’re precisely the people he can't tell.

It’s exactly five days later when the third and final realization hits him. The Haus is mostly empty apart from them - Bitty’s up in his room filming a video, Lardo’s probably in the art studio, and Chowder’s on a date with Farmer. They’re in the living room, some TV show playing in the background none of them is paying attention to, and Justin’s watching how Holster and March interact, still trying to figure if he should address this at all. Holster’s watching March with that look in his eyes again, but then his gaze shifts to Justin, and _oh_. He still has the exact same look while he watches Justin, until he notices him watching and quickly averts his gaze.

After his observation, Justin tries to subtly watch whenever Holster looks at him, and it just _keeps happening_. That look in his eyes he gets when he talks to someone he’s really into, the one he gets when he looks at March when he thinks nobody’s watching, is the exact same look he gets when he looks at _him_. There’s really only one conclusion he can come to; Holster’s in love with March and he’s in love with Justin, too. And the thing is, he really can’t rule out the possibility that the feeling’s mutual. It’s not a line of thought he’s followed before, at least not consciously, but looking back, it would explain a  _lot_. The more he thinks about it, the firmer he sticks to his conclusion, how could he _not_ have fallen in love with Holster?

Well, that definitely gives him more things to consider.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Ransom does some more thinking and finally talks to March. Next chapter will contain actual dialogue, I swear.
> 
>  
> 
> This is my first time ever sharing fanfiction with others (and tbh sharing creative writing with others in general, apart from RPing), and I'm not from an English speaking country, so feedback is very welcome!  
> Also, specifically: Nicknames stress me out bc I have a hard time figuring out when to use them and when not to. I think because this is from Ransom's POV he'd probably think of himself as "Justin" but call Holster well, "Holster" in his head? But it also feels weird to say Justin and Holster, so I'm very unsure about this. It'd be well appreciated if someone who had an opinion on this weighed in, I could go back and change it or something.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ransom does some thinking, and talks to March.

Justin spends the next few days contemplating things. He spends ages on the internet, looking at every single page he can find on polyamory, particularly those pertaining to triads. Whenever he spends time with Holster and March he keeps zoning out, thinking about his options.

He’s pretty sure what he wants to do at this point, but he keeps researching anyway. At this point he's definitely procrastinating, but he’s never seriously considered polyamory before, and well, the whole “actually bringing it up to other people as a possibility” thing is pretty nervewracking. His countless google searches for various iterations of  _ how do I bring up polyamory with my partner  _ only help to an extent;  _ how do I ask my best friend if he wants to date me and my girlfriend  _ doesn’t really give him any results at all.

When he finally decides to just bite the bullet, he decides to talk to March first; the option of talking to both of them at once just seems extra overwhelming, and when considering bringing another person into your relationship, it’s probably better to start with talking to the person who makes up the other fifty percent of said relationship.

“We need to talk.” They’re out on a coffee date, and neither of them have anything planned after it, so now seems to be as good a time as any to bring it up.

“Okay?” She looks mildly confused. “Go on, then.”

“No, uh, I mean in private.” The café is fairly empty, but he doesn’t feel  comfortable having this conversation when anyone could walk past them at any time.

Her eyebrows furrow. “Is anything wrong?”

“No!” He rushes to reassure her. “Just… do you know if April’s home? Holster might be, if she’s out we could maybe talk in your room?”

“She went into Boston to meet her cousin, so my room should be empty until later tonight.” She keeps eyeing him slightly suspiciously. “Want to go now?” She gestures at both their empty plates.

“Yeah.” They stand up and walk silently to the Haus; Justin can’t remember the last time he felt so awkward around March.

After ten minutes of uncomfortable silence, they finally get to March’s room. She sits down next to him on her bed, looking at him expectantly.

“So, uh,” he pauses to take a deep breath. No point in beating around the bush, right? “I know you have feelings for Holster.” He winces when he sees the incredibly guilty expression on March’s face; that did definitely not come out the way he wanted it to.

“I… I didn’t- it just  _ happened _ , Justin, I didn’t mean to, and you know I love you, I would never actually do anything-” Justin cuts her off.

“No! I don’t mean to imply… that, March, I know you’d never hurt me, I  _ trust  _ you.” He tries his best to convey that he absolutely means it. “And I’m not angry or sad, I swear. I mean…” March looks slightly relieved, but also incredibly confused. “I mean… I think he likes you too. And me. And me too.” He’s pretty sure his sentences don’t fully make sense at this point.

“I… what?” March looks absolutely baffled.

“I mean, uh. I think he’s interested in you too? But also in me. And I think I might be interested in him.” The confusion on March’s face becomes more apparent with every word he says. “And, well, I’ve kind-of been researching polyamory a lot online, and, uh,” his words have been escaping his lips almost too fast, so he finally pauses to take a deep breath. “I was wondering if maybe, maybe you’d want to ask him out. On a date. With me. And you.”

March looks shocked. But… not in a bad way? At least Justin hopes so. Oh God, he  _ really  _ hopes he didn’t fuck up. At least she doesn’t seem angry, or disgusted by his suggestion, which is a good sign, right?

March is silent for a few moments. “You mean like… a threesome?”

“Yes? Well, not exactly? Maybe more like, a relationship? But with three people. Or at least, dating. Trying something out, and seeing where things go.” Justin fiddles with the hem of his shirt. It feels like his words aren’t coming out quite the way he wants them to; in his head, at least, he sounds a lot more confident about this.

“Um.” March stares at the wall and goes silent.

After a few minutes, he can’t handle the complete silence anymore. “So, what do you think?” His voice feels weak.

“I, uh, I think… I think I need some time.” Justin’s face falls ever so slightly- he’s messed things up, hasn’t he? “I’m not angry, or going to break up with you, or anything, I promise,” she adds quickly, noticing Justin’s expression. “I just… this is a lot to process, y’know? So I need some time to think about it. So just, give me a little time?”

Okay, that’s fair. He’s still afraid he’s messed things up, but it took  _ him  _ a while to wrap his head around things, of course it makes sense that it would take March time too. “Yeah, okay, sure. Do you want me to leave?” He gives her an uneasy smile.

She takes a moment to think before nodding her head hesitantly. “Yeah, uh, I think I need some time alone to think.” Justin nods awkwardly and stands up from her bed. “But I’ll talk to you tomorrow? And tell you if I’m ready to make a decision or not.”

“Yeah, sure. Goodbye, March. And… good luck?” Okay, maybe that wasn’t the appropriate thing to say. Justin swears he’s not normally that awkward, but he also has zero experience with handling this sort of situation.

“Bye, Justin. I love you,” she says right before he leaves, which probably does more to reassure him than anything else she’s said. That probably means that he hasn’t ruined everything, right?

The rest of the day goes by in a haze. He feels a confusing mixture of relief, nerves, guilt, terror, hope, and at least fifteen other emotions he can’t put a label on. He’s very easily distracted, and the team definitely notices something’s off, though they don’t say anything. Holster asks him if anything’s wrong later that night, and he claims to have a headache. He’s not sure if Holster believes him, but at least he doesn’t call him on it. He doesn’t pay much attention in classes the following day either; and when he gets a text from March telling him to meet her in her room in the afternoon, he’s not sure if he wants to sprint or walk as slowly as humanly possible.

He settles on a regular pace, and when he reaches her door he takes a deep breath before knocking. They sit down on March’s bed like they had the afternoon before, facing each other with their legs crossed. They spend a few moments in silence before March starts.

“So, I’ve been thinking about what you talked about yesterday.” She pauses, and Justin tries to give her an encouraging nod. “And you would want to consider like… a triad relationship?” He nods in assent. “And… what if I say no?”

“Then it doesn’t go any further. I won’t get angry or resentful, I promise. I love you, your happiness and comfort are more important to me.” March doesn’t say anything else, seemingly taking the time to process what he’s said.

“Okay,” she says after a while. She doesn’t say anything else, but gives a small smile and a nod.

“What?” He’s not completely sure what the  _ okay  _ was referring to.

“I want to try it. Asking Adam out. I mean, it’d be… something none of us have any experience with,  and there’d be a lot to figure out at first, given it even works out. But it’d be worth trying, right?” She smiles at him.

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.” A relieved smile spreads across his lips.

They sit in silence for a few minutes after that. Justin considers breaking it a few times, but he doesn’t really know what to say, and the silence isn’t really uncomfortable, anyway.

“So, how do we go about it?” At this point, he’s zoning out, but March’s voice ends his train of thought.

“Huh, what?” He’s not quite in the present yet.

“Asking Adam out. How are we gonna do it?”

“...Good question.” After a moment, a smile spreads across Justin’s face, but March cuts in before he can say anything.

“Before you say it, _no_ , we are  _ not  _ asking Adam out with a Powerpoint presentation.” Justin pouts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this was okay! Again, I'm ESL-ish & new to writing fanfiction, and I have no beta, so please feel free tell me about any feedback if you have any. Whether it's correcting a phrase I used wrong or something that I worded strangely, or some weird accidental error, or if it's tips on improving future writing, it's all very appreciated!


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